All The Difference
by The Azure Penguin
Summary: It was funny how life turned out to be in reality, just when you think you were at the brink of reaching your dreams. Slight Ry/Uk implied. Updated!
1. All The Difference

A/N: My second hand so far at an Ukyo-centric fic. Slight Ry/Uk implied. Comments are always, always welcome. :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Ranma ½ or any of its characters. Just this story.

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**All The Difference**

_By The Azure Penguin._

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Night time in Nerima. The sky would have been a beautiful sight, full of stars and wonders, but with all its effort to shine on the world, she couldn't bother to pay attention to it. Not now. Not when the tears kept coming.

She wiped them angrily, almost making red scratches at her face. She wanted to scream, to hit something, to do ANYTHING that would make this nagging, raging hole in her chest disappear.

But she didn't want to cry. She wanted to do anything BUT cry. For her, crying was always a sign of weakness. She grew up pretending to be a boy, after all. She hated the feeling of tears streaking down her face, and having her chest heave while she bawled out her misery. She hated the depression, the sadness it would bring. For some, crying would be a comfort, a release, if you will. For her, it just meant you had nothing better to do with your problems.

And as the tears streamed down, she hated it.

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She was only a block away from her restaurant, when she saw him. But she didn't know that yet.

A black piglet, lying on the ground. She ran to it, and wondered if it was dead. She hoped not. It looked like it was Akane's pet, P-chan.

She touched the animal, and it gave no signs of moving. It was breathing, though. She picked it up, wrapped it in her scarf, and went home.

For a moment there, she forgot about the soon-to-be-wedding, the sadness, the tears.

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As soon as she got home, she went upstairs and turned the heater on. The pig was on her lap, still in her scarf. "I wonder what it was doing at a time like this? And in the middle of fall..." she mused. Unconsciously, she began stroking it and humming a melody while the heater warmed them both.

Slowly, he began to awaken.

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He could hear a low, humming sound. He realized that it was someone humming a melody he didn't recognize. It stopped, but he could distinctly feel that someone was stroking his fur. It felt warm and comfortable.

Then the sobbing came.

"I know, I know, this is pathetic. But I don't have anyone right now, sugar, and I know you're just a sleeping little piglet. But I sometimes wonder,you know, if Akane ever talked to you like this...? Maybe she did...after her fights with Ranma."

His heart twisted with a pang, just like everytime he heard a girl cry.

"I...I think I knew it already from the start, sugar. I think I already knew that I had no chance against her to win his heart. But I'm the cute fiancee, aren't I? I'm his best friend, the best chef...I could be everything he needed."

"I was on the road for ten years! Ten years of pretending, lying, and suffering. Ten years...but what did they all do the minute he called me 'cute'? I know it's kinda pathetic to fall for someone like that...but I've never been called that in my life, you know...I was never appreciated that way."

"I've missed him, all these years. I still do."

"And...now, they're getting married. My Ran-chan and... Akane. Married. The wedding I wanted all this time...actually belonged to another girl way before I even knew it."

Here, she choked out the words.

"But...but I love him. I know it will never seem that way for him, but I do. He was...still is...everything to me. I could give up anything for him."

"I have no one, sweetie. Everyone here has someone, you know? And...I feel so alone. In everything. Most of the time, I'm not even there or aware whenever the gang has fun."

The girl hesitated, looked at the seemingly asleep piglet, and her voice broke out into a soft whisper.

"Well...it might sound strange...but there's this one person. Aside from Ran-chan, I mean. He probably doesn't even know it, but...he's the closest person to a friend I have in my life."

"I...I guess I realized it when we were on the Island in Togenkyou. He never meant to find me...but I was glad he did. He meant to rescue Akane...who didn't? But when he burst through the door, I felt... relief. That someone, no matter how unintentional, was going to save me."

"Of course, I had to beg him to stay. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if he just chose to walk out the door, walk out on me."

"Was I really that unimportant to everyone? That they could just turn their back on me like that?"

At this, she sighed. The piglet in her arms trembled a bit, and she patted it gently.

"But he stayed. I'll never forget that. I sure wish I had the guts to tell him all this, sugar, but...with Akane and Ran-chan and everything...it might just get all confusing..."

She trailed off, the tears still trickling down her face. Surprise shot through her when the little pig, who was now awake, nuzzled her hand comfortingly.

She looked down at him then, with tears in her blue, blue eyes. But she was smiling. A small smile, but still.

At that moment, he had never seen a girl look so...It was impossible to describe. Akane had never looked at him like that. Never will.

Ukyo Kuonji looked out the window, at a sky full of stars and wonders, as did Ryouga Hibiki.

For some strange reason, the both of them felt just a little better in each other's company.

The words were inadequate, the gestures small, but it made all the difference in the world.

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**A/N: **I didn't want to get so heavy on Ukyo's emotional rant back there, so I tried to keep it light. This came to me in the middle of the night…so forgive some of the story's more fragile parts. Waking up at 1 am just to type a story is never a good thing, lol. But I just couldn't get the darn thing out of my head! Anyways, reviews are very much appreciated!

EDIT: Thank you very much to **anyahibiki** for correcting the Atami mistake. :)


	2. Train Ride Regrets

**A/N:** I never really intended this to be a chapter fic, but apparently, some readers would like to see it continued…so I worked up a chapter in Ryoga's perspective, thanks to **SithKnight-Galen**'s suggestion. :) I also added a brief "intro" for this chapter…to explain the situation after the wedding took place. Thank you for all the reviews! :) I hope I didn't disappoint too much.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½ or any of its characters.

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All The Difference

_By The Azure Penguin._

**Chapter 2—Train Ride Regrets**

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The wedding was just what everyone expected.

_It was simple, yet nearly perfect in every way. For once, the residents of Nerima were…unnatural.. Behaved. Well-mannered, even-tempered, and non-violent. Shocking, really. _

_Nothing out of the ordinary happened...except the union of two stubborn souls who finally, FINALLY, found out that they were the right one for each other._

_For two spurned lovers, the wedding was the incarnation of the term "sacrifice."_

_For Ryouga Hibiki, it meant "self-sacrifice"._

_To Ukyo Kuonji, it seemed like a "selfish" one._

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Self-sacrifice, because he had to reveal his deepest and darkest secret to the girl he loved for so long. Her reaction, to say the least, was unforgiving. He had deceived her, after all. And in some opinions, taken advantage of.

_And so, it was only with a tight smile that Akane Saotome received their wedding gift from Ryouga Hibiki._

_It seemed too soon for forgiveness._

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It was a selfish gesture.

_It was true, she gave up her happiness for Ranma's own...but in truth, she did it because she just wanted to end all her suffering._

_Apparently, it wasn't really that easy. Her suffering continued..._

_...as did his._

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Ryouga Hibiki was not sighted in Nerima for a couple of weeks after the wedding.

Some people just shrugged it off, after all, it wasn't uncommon that the Eternally Lost Boy...well, got lost.

So they just chalked it up to the fact that he had wandered off again.

'But he'll be back soon,' they mused. He always came back.

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The said boy was deep in thought in the confines of a railway station...well, as confined as you can be when you were a black piglet that sneaked into the baggage compartment.

As the train finally started moving and churned its way through Japan, (which he desperately hoped would lead him to an area near Nerima) certain words were ringing through his head.

_**"I have no one, sweetie. Everyone here has someone, you know? And...I feel so alone."**_

'No, Ukyo,' he thought sadly to himself.

He didn't have someone, too.

There was this girl, though. A girl named Akari who took him for everything he was, pig curse, abysmal sense of direction, and all. And as sweet as she may be, (she sometimes even reminded him of Akane when she was in one of her best moods) he had this uneasy feeling about them. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, but for some strange reason, he had this vibe that when he was finally cured of the Jusenkyou curse, Akari wouldn't see him the way she did now.

But since he wasn't cured yet, how was he to know?

His pig-form snorted.

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A few other words circled his thoughts...

_**"He's the closest person to a friend I have in my life."**_

When she said this, he had to admit, he was quite taken aback. Up until that night, he had never seen Ukyo as more than a... scheming partner? Comrade-in-arms? Well, not to the degree that was friendship, like she considered it. But, he mused...they did make a good team. And sometimes, when they weren't arguing, he found out that he could get along well with her.

Until he blundered, that is.

His pig-form squealed ruefully. Her spatula hits were, admittedly, quite hard.

But still. _'A friend...'_ he thought. A friend sounded quite nice, actually.

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These last thoughts were the ones that made his insides crawl in a regretful manner...

_**"I sometimes wonder what would have happened if he just chose to walk out the door, walk out on me."**_

_**"Was I really that unimportant to everyone? That they could just turn their back on me like that?"**_

He had trembled at that moment. His insides turned into ice the minute she said them.

He felt a strange pang of regret, pity, and sadness. It was true, he DID almost turn his back on her. But she was so pushy about it that he stayed. He didn't think that his actions would affect her so much...but apparently, it did.

After all, who WAS really there for Ukyo Kuonji during the most crucial times, the times that mattered? He didn't remember anyone else looking for her when they split up in the palace of Prince Toma. They were all searching for the Tendo sisters, aside from Mousse.

He didn't realize the horrible truth until that night: that no one ever really looked for Ukyo.

Her words rang in his head again.

_**"Was I really that unimportant to everyone? That they could just turn their back on me like that?"**_

He felt sorry for turning his back on her...he was so focused on Akane, that he could even bear to leave a girl in need for someone who already had others looking for her!

It was then that Ryouga realized that he had hurt Ukyo at that time, and probably during the aftermath, too. He could vaguely remember saying Akane's name when he woke up...only to find the smiling face of Ukyo beside him and supporting his weight.

How much effort did it take, he wondered, for her to smile like that at him during that time? After what he nearly did to her? After all that had happened?

The black piglet sighed. For once, the depression he felt wasn't his own.

Just then, the train stopped at its destination:

"Nerima", the sign said.

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**A/N:**Well there you go, another shot at this supposedly one-shot fic. What do you think? To tell you the truth, this is the first time I'm writing in multi-chapters for this kind of thing…ehehehe. Comments and reviews would be very much appreciated! :)


	3. Disintegration

**A/N:** Again, thanks for all the reviews. They're all that keeps me going. :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½ or any of its characters.

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All The Difference

_By The Azure Penguin._

**Chapter 3 –Disintegration**

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At first, Ryouga thought that he was in the wrong place. "Damn sense of direction,"he muttered. He backtracked a bit. Nope, it was the right one. The sign, "Ucchan's" was clearly displayed, it was the same sights, smells, and sounds of a restaurant, and the chef behind the grill certainly looked like Ukyo…

But why was it so different?

Maybe because he saw the girl running the restaurant crying and breaking down on him not too long ago.

Maybe it was because of the fact that her smile today, and probably during the past days, just didn't seem _**right.**_

Ukyo called out an order to Konatsu, and her voice rang clear and loud, like a tinkling bell. Konatsu glanced back at her, worried. Ukyo just smiled back at her 'waitress' sweetly.

No, it wasn't right at all.

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It was closing time at Ucchan's, but Ukyo had one more customer to serve.

Ryouga glanced up at the chef currently flipping his okonomiyaki orders for him. His hands were trembling, and although the restaurant was well air-conditioned, beads of sweat were trickling down his forehead.

He wiped them away hurriedly.

Ukyo turned to Ryouga, and smiled. Ryouga smiled back uncertainly, still feeling uneasy.

"So, sugar," Ukyo said, as she handed him his order. "What have you been up to lately?" She propped her elbows up on the counter and looked at him a little too eagerly.

"_**A friend…"**_ Ryouga took a bite and swallowed, hard. He sighed. If he was going to be Ukyo's friend, he might as well tell her the whole crappy ordeal of his curse. His decision on what to do next rested on her reaction to it. If she booted him out of the restaurant in horror and disgust, he would turn his back on Nerima and try to work things out with Akari. If she was a little more understanding, however…he might just stay. The reason as to why…well, he wasn't quite sure of that, either.

Confusion meddled with Ryouga's thoughts, but he managed to get some words out.

"Ukyo…I have to tell you something," he said hurriedly.

Ukyo's eyes widened. "What is it, Ryouga?" She could tell that this was something important by the way her whole counter shook with his trembling hands.

"It's okay," she added quietly. "I'm here to listen." And she gave him a flashback of the smile that she gave him the night she cried.

In his chest, Ryouga's heart twisted with a pang with the thought of what he was about to do.

"It's….well, I… I think you're going to hate me for this," Ryouga took a deep breath. "But…I just wanted you to know…because, well, you have a right to." He exhaled.

"Before you do anything…I'll let you know that I never took advantage of Akane, and that I didn't mean to…pry on you that night. I never meant for any of these things to happen, Ukyo…" His voice became pleading as he tried to search her eyes for some understanding.

Then he sucked in a breath and said,

"I'm P-chan."

Ukyo blinked, then started to snicker. "Wow, that's a good one, Ryouga! Really, it is!" She was laughing out loud.

Ryouga looked at her with weary eyes, and decided to do something he never did in his life.

As Ukyo watched with curiosity and fascination, Ryouga picked up his glass of cold water and dumped it on his head.

In his place was P-chan, Akane's black piglet.

The same piglet that she saw Ranma bully,

The same piglet that she knew Akane slept with at night,

The same piglet _that she bawled out on and opened up to._

P-chan 'bwee-d' in helplessness at the chef standing before him with wide eyes.

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Ukyo Kuonji stared at the sight before her**. **Ryouga had been telling the truth, after all.

**Ryouga was P-chan. P-chan was Ryouga.**

Without a word, she got a thermos and poured out hot water on him.

"I…I don't know what to say, Ryouga," she said softly as she turned her back on him while he dressed.

Ryouga coughed. Ukyo turned to him again.

"It's, well…I was in Jusenkyou that day Ranma got his curse. He kicked me into the spring of the drowned piglet…and everything snowballed from there," he said.

"I…I understand if you don't want me here anymore," he added, defeated, when Ukyo's eyes were still downcast.

"Ukyo," he began, "I…I'm sorry about that night when…well, I just told Akane about my curse as a favor to Ranma and her…and…she got so angry she…kicked me out." _To put it lightly._

"Believe me, if I knew that you were going to pick me up…I would never have intruded on your privacy!" he said, still pleading.

"_My_ privacy? What about Akane's?" Here, she looked up at him. Her eyes were hurt, and angry. And…was she blushing?

"I told you, I never looked at her when she dressed or did any perverted things!" he cried.

"But how could you, Ryouga? Why didn't you admit it to her in the first place?" Her voice trembled. '_Oh my god, oh my god…Ryouga knows! He knows everything…that night I told __**him.**__'_

"I wanted to be closer to her," he admitted sadly. "Ukyo, please…understand. I could never have gotten that close to her in real life. I was clutching at straws. I was lucky Ranma kept my secret for me, too. He saved me so many times…"

Ukyo sighed at him. She closed her eyes and nodded wearily. "I guess…I understand."

"But Ryouga…" she said softly. Her eyes were downcast again. The blush on her cheeks was more prominent this time. "That night I…um…you were there. Did you…did you hear…_everything?_"

Ryouga stared at her. Where was she getting to with this? "Um…yes," he admitted uncertainly. "I'm sorry," He added quietly.

"So…um…I guess you heard about the part when…we were at the Island," she said.

Ryouga nodded. "About that…I'm sorry, Ukyo. When I didn't want to save you." Even to him, the words stung. "And when you thought of me as your friend, too."

Ukyo hesitated. "_Thought of?_ What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I'm guessing after everything that I've done to you…" he bowed his head and set his mouth in a grim line.

Then Ryouga Hibiki turned his back on her, found the door for once, and walked away.

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**A/N: **Hmm…I'm not quite sure about this chapter; I'm not so satisfied with the way it turned out. But before anything else, a lot will be explained in Chapter 4, I assure you. It's apparent that there's been some kind of misunderstanding between Ryouga and Ukyo, and well, I want my readers to know that somehow, it'll be settled, so don't worry. :)

Also, I'm thinking of ending this fic at the next chapter already…What do you think? Thank you for reading this so far! As always, comments and reviews are very much appreciated!


	4. Retribution

A/N: I have finally updated after four long years!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Ranma ½ or any of its characters. Just this story.

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**All The Difference**

_By The Azure Penguin._

**_Flashback_**

_Ryouga nodded. "About that…I'm sorry, Ukyo. When I didn't want to save you." Even to him, the words stung. "And when you thought of me as your friend, too."_

_Ukyo hesitated. "Thought of? What do you mean by that?"_

_"Well, I'm guessing after everything that I've done to you…" he bowed his head and set his mouth in a grim line._

_Then Ryouga Hibiki turned his back on her, found the door for once, and walked away._

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"Ryouga Hibiki, YOU JACKASS!" screamed Ukyo, as she chased after the Lost Boy.

Ryouga stopped at the corner of the street and turned, face still grim but not without a look of confusion on it.

"Don't you want me out of your life, Ukyo? Since I've been such a horrible person to you and all. I heard everything," he said with regret.

Ukyo stood still for a moment, unsure what to do. On one hand, she wanted to laugh because she was finally relieved of all the pent-up emotions of hurt and sadness that flooded her every time she was looked over for another.

On the other hand, she wanted to rage at the idiocy and embarrassment that must've registered with Ryouga when she was crying her life story out to him when he was P-chan.

Deep down, she knew that those feelings of rejection were built on the foundation of another emotion, one she couldn't really bear to think of for now.

She glanced up at Ryouga, who was still grimly appraising her demeanor.

Then she slapped him. Hard.

Ryouga didn't flinch, but bowed his head instead.

"I deserved that," he mumbled.

"That," she said coldly, "was for Akane's honor. No matter what you _didn't_ do, it's just plain wrong. And that was also for not telling me you were P-chan sooner."

She stepped closer to him. Ryouga met her gaze, as if determined to take whatever punishment she still might have in store for him.

Ukyo's eyes were staring. Hard.

Then, without warning, she hugged him.

It was an awkward hug, for Ryouga at least. Her arms were around his waist, and her face was buried in his chest. He didn't know what to do.

Ryouga could feel her soft hair just beneath his chin. He could hear her breathing heavily, as if she was about to cry but she was just forcing the tears to stop. He could also feel her arms, taut and strong, around his waist.

_A girl was hugging him, _said the dazed part of his mind.

_The girl is Ukyo,_ said the mentally astute part.

_This ain't bad,_ said the confused bit.

Ukyo sighed.

"Silly. I've been waiting to tell someone that for a long time," she said softly. Then she let go.

She looked up at him.

"I-.." began Ryouga. He hesitated, because he saw the tears that were starting to form in the okonomiyaki chef's eyes. But strangely enough, Ukyo was smiling.

"I'm here now," he said.

He pulled her close to him again.

This time, Ukyo didn't let go.

_For some strange reason, the both of them felt just a little better in each other's company._

_The words were inadequate, the gestures small, but it made all the difference in the world._

**END.**

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A/N: WOOO so it's finally done! Thank you to everyone who has stuck by this. :)

I'm sorry if the ending seemed rushed, I honestly forgot what I was going to do with the plot after life got in the way of me writing this story. But I think this fic may be given a sequel, now that I have a starting point for this budding Ry/Uk thing. Do you think it should? Tell me your thoughts by leaving a review! :)


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